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Atlantic Seismic Survey Promises Death and Devastation for Dolphins,Whales, and other Sea Life

FIGURE 1. Location of the proposed seismic surveys and OBH/S instruments at the proposed study site in the northeast Atlantic Ocean duringJune–July 2013, and marine protected areas in Spain.

The month of June thru July 12, 2013 promises death and destruction for dolphins, whales, and all the sea life in the Northeastern Atlantic ocean as a seismic survey takes place in a marine protected area. Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory (L-DE) are planning to do a seismic survey with funding from the U.S. National Science Foundation to search for gas and oil deposits. This planned high energy seismic survey will take place in International waters in and within the exclusive zone (EEZ) of Spain in water depths greater than 3000 meters or approximately 1 and 3/4 miles under the surface. The Marcus G. Langeth will be towing a 18 gun array of 160-190 Db of deadly sound. The intervals between blasts would be 15 seconds for 39 days without stopping. “Seismic airguns are used to find oil and gas deep underneath the ocean floor. Airguns are so loud that they disturb, injure or kill marine life, harm commercial fisheries, and disrupt coastal economies. These dynamite-like blasts—which are repeated every ten seconds, 24 hours a day, for days and weeks at a time—are 100,000 times more intensethan a jet engine. Seismic airgun testing currently being proposed in the Atlantic will injure 138,500 whales and dolphins and disturb millions more, according to government estimates”.

Blue Voice was on the scene as 2800 dolphins continued to wash up on the beaches of North Peru

Every day more strandings and cetacean deaths are linked to seismic testing and sonar. In 2012 the deaths of 1000’s of dolphins off the coast of Peru was linked to acoustic trauma:

“The marine veterinarian, Carlos Yaipen-Llanos, who is president of the conservation group Orca Peru, said in an interview that necropsies that he and his colleagues performed on three separate expeditions indicated that the dolphins examined were bleeding in their middle ears and had suffered fractures there. They also had gas in their solid internal organs and severe acute pulmonary emphysema, symptoms consistent with death from decompression sickness — that is, the bends, he said.

“The animals died from decompression sickness caused by acoustic trauma,” he said” (source)

16 thoughts on “Atlantic Seismic Survey Promises Death and Devastation for Dolphins,Whales, and other Sea Life”

People, people, have you done any research into this? No. Stop and think. Do you see seagulls following a vessel carrying out a marine seismic survey? No you don’t. That’s because there are no dead fish – unlike a commercial fishing vessel that catches and kills everything over a certain size in it’s nets, squid, dolphin you name it, including ripping up coral when trawling. So please don’t believe everything that people dream up! And if you seriously want to stop killing of fish get behind limiting commercial fishing.

We are in opposition to trawlers, gillnets and other forms of commercial fishing that is destroying the oceans but this post happens to be about seismic testing. Seismic testing is deadly to whales and dolphins. While man depends on sight dolphins and whales depend on their sensitive hearing to navigate, forage and do just about everything. Seismic surveys shoot off blasts of air at anywhere from 160 to 230. Under water sound travels faster and is stronger. A dolphin hit by sonar while diving has their own sonar completely disabled. Many rush to the surface getting the bends. This is evidenced by air bubbles in the blood. Anne I encourage you to follow the link to a video about seismic testing done by Oceana a non-profit organization: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q9P4q8EAE30#at=83

As soon as the comment period closes on 4/22as NOAA/NMFS we will be adding petition. You can also find the petition on Champions Facebook being shared throughout the day. We feel making a public comment is very important.